Chemung County had the highest rate of opioid abuse during 2016 in a nine-county region in the Fingers Lake studied by a Rochester regional health planning organization.

The study, released Wednesday by Common Ground Health, included Chemung, Steuben, Schuyler, Yates, Seneca, Ontario, Livingston, Wayne and Monroe counties. It based its findings on records from hospital emergency room visits in the region, but also touched on records of overdose deaths.

In Chemung County, the report determined, residents visited hospital emergency departments for opioid abuse or overdoses 161 times in 2016 and five people died from the powerful painkillers.

From 2014 to 2016, according to the study, 54 percent of people who overdosed on opioids in the region had a prescription for opioids within the prior two years. For non-heroin opioid overdoses, the relationship was even stronger; 68 percent of people who overdosed had prior prescriptions for painkillers.

However, the rate of opioid overdoes deaths was far higher in Steuben (14.3 per 100,000 population). It was second-highest in the nine counties, with Monroe at the top (15.7).

"The epidemic continues to touch residents regardless of geography, age, or racial and ethnic background," the study said.

Albert Blankley, director of research and analytics for Common Ground Health, said understanding how people become dependent on opioids is critical in efforts to curb the epidemic.

On a national level, the Centers for Disease Control has projected that drug overdose deaths have shot up 21 percent from 2015 to 2016; much of that was driven by opioids. Heroin overdoses more than doubled during that time period — there were 613 overdoses across the Finger Lakes region.

Other opioid overdoses (excluding heroin, but including the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl) increased 72 percent from 2005, with 339 cases in the region, according to the study.

Blankley said the study's findings "show that for some individuals, prescription medications may contribute to or trigger the problem."

The study noted how the public health community has a general understanding that opioid pain medications come with some risk of future abuse and addiction.

More patients in the hospitals are exhibiting signs of opioid abuse or dependence, the study noted, but none of these patients is exhibiting immediate acute symptoms of an overdose. These are people facing elevated risks of future overdoses, according to the study.

Research also shows opioid overdoses have grown in parallel with the rise of opioid prescriptions, according to the study.

For patients who have overdosed, the study said, nearly half (45 percent) had filled an opioid prescription within the prior 12 months. In heroin overdose cases, nearly one-third of patients (31 percent) had an opioid prescription in the past 12 months.

Efforts to combat the drug epidemic and issues highlighted in Wednesday's report include curbing the amount of narcotics prescribed by doctors, according to Blankley's group.

In addition, new medication drop boxes are being added throughout the region, so people can properly dispose of unused prescriptions.